Our Night
by stubb
Summary: Tabitha is left to watch Miria suffer in Rabona as the other Ghosts depart,only Tabitha's unrequited love can save her.TabithaXMiria .Complete.
1. Chapter 1

**Our Night**

A Claymore FanFiction.

I do not own the copyrights to Claymore or any other or Yagi's works.

Chapter One.

"You two have fun now!"

Helen had quickly scurried to the gates as soon as her crow was launched .The last of the ghosts had set out into the world. They would return, with their souls cleansed of regrets from the past and ready to take up the enormous burden of freeing these lands. Miria stood atop of the watch gate, dampening the pang of hurt before it could erupt in her stomach, her sisters would be safe, she prayed, and of course, she was not alone.

"What now, Miria?"

It was the faithful voice of Tabitha, who had promised to stay with her commander while the other spectres of the north stalked off from the walls of Rabona. Miria turned and peered over her shoulder at the still expression that had come over Tabitha's face, see could see a vision of relief, and, possibly …excitement?

"We make our way back to the church, before the guards spot us"

And with that, like darting swallows they soared over the buildings and streets before stamping to a halt at the balcony of the hollowed building. They paused for a moment to gaze out to the city of Rabona. It was a noisy market day, carts rolled on dirt tracks through the streets, Stalls filled with the morning pick with sellers crowing above the crows, mothers' buying fish and hushing children who saw "a big black bird " upon the roof top. It was an alien landscape for both of them; it was too normal, it mundane. Miria was the first to turn and enter with Tabitha slowly edging after her.

000

The Church had provided them with dormitories, far away from the roving eyes of young priests, at the top of the building, only a certain nun and the high priests could gain entrance here which gave both of them a chance to relax from their duties. Upon entering their room Tabitha stretched and collapsed into her chosen bed while Miria simply took a seat beside a scarred, yellowing table.

"I'm not used to comfort, it hurts" came the muffled sound of Tabitha's voice from the pillow.

"Mmm.", was the primitive reply from her companion .Tabitha leered over at her fearless commander to see her once again immersed in work, several sheets and an opened ink well with the top of the pen hanging limply of the top due to the excessive biting of its owner. The only sound in the room was the scraping of an ink pen upon paper and Miria's fidgeting causing the chairs legs to moan across the wooden floor.

Tabitha rarely seen Miria sleep. Was she even capable of it? Was it uncontrollable insomnia that bruised the dark circles under her eyes or the constant regret of seven years ago? From what she knew, the half breeds could not age, well, those who lived long enough. But Tabitha could see the years take their toll on Miria, With every day her eyes grew more stoic and distant and what shook her the most was the tiny specs of silver that had begun the bless the soft pines of Miria's hair.

This was Miria's chance to release herself, yet, almost dutifully, she had buried herself in work, maybe that was how she unloaded years of anxiety, no, even Miria ,could not carry that .

Tabitha came to one conclusion.

She would have to save Miria from herself.

000

It was two hours before dawn, and Tabitha had risen to the sound of two drunken men squabble outside the church walls. Unable to roll back into sleep she pushed herself forward and heaved herself out of the smothering bed. The comfort was indeed killing her .She cast a gaze to the undisturbed bed of her companion, who had also abandoned her position beside the desk. Tabitha would have sighed, maybe grimaced if she had allowed it. But on this day, she would not stand on the sidelines and watch her beloved commander suffer. Rubbing the last of the sap and crust from her drunk, sleepy eyes she pulled on her navy uniform, and readied herself for the task at hand.

As she pedalled down the spiral staircase her eyes caught a glimpse of the wild pines of a certain woman's hair wondering through a dimly lit room. On further inspection the room was a library, lit by a few dying candles to ward off the dark. The silvered eyed spectre moved from one isle to another, seemingly lost, finally she came into full view, and Tabitha spared one moment to look at the bleary eyed wonder that padded around before her.

Miria was not as filled as Deneve, or as slim as Clare, Her long figure was due to her lavish torso and slender back that riveted and coiled under the thin leather suit. Her arms and legs were coordinated in their movements, never mindlessly swinging be her sides. Miria's face was what had always caught Tabitha breath. She was blessed with high cheekbones and a soft heart shaped face. Her long bangs of hair hung down to her chin and elongated her swan like neck.

"Good morning, Tabitha" addressed the calm voice of Miria.

Tabitha nearly jumped out of her skin at the realisation that she had been caught.

"Umm, Morning, Miria" she quickly ejected.

Miria had already turned and had ventured back into the jungle of literature, but stopped at the question now put forward to her

"What ...what're you looking for?" pondered the sheepish voice.

"The history section" was her factual reply, without even turning around.

Tabitha had now already scurried around two isles in search of Miria's promised destination, firstly she wanted to aid her and then, to avoid the deafening silence that saturated the musky air .Within seconds, found the wall of text with "History" carved into the top of the stand.

"Dah..here it is" she hushed over the isles towards rather surprised blonde.

"Oh ...It was right in front of me" and then something Tabitha had heard only seldom, Miria's soft self mocking chuckle. The awkward silence broke, much to the immense relief of Tabitha, as Miria glided over beside Tabitha to survey the sea of writing.

"What were you looking for?"

"History of Religion and the dispute of territories in North, South and West ."

"Ah."

"Hmm? "

"Well I just thought you would be the romance type" Tabitha tittered.

Another wondrous giggle fluttered out of Miria's lips.

"The last romance novel I read was a tragedy."

" Really? How did it end?"

"No I meant it was crap"

It was Tabitha's turn to laugh; Miria's language never leaned to the profane, perhaps, the dormant happiness hormones had now slowly introduced themselves back into Miria's system. Desperate to keep up the emotion, an idea sparked into Tabitha's head.

"Why not find a good one then? I mean you have plenty of time to look through the history" Tabitha stated matter of factly, chin aimed higher as she pondered through the various titles of the history section.

"Hmm…I Think I might." And with that she slinked off again before taking a sharp right which lead to the darker part of the library. Tabitha soon followed to find Miria trailing a gloved finger across the spines of the forgotten fiction that was ruthlessly abandoned by the scholars that studied and quarrelled in theses walls. Her digit paused and landed on a maroon hardback, she peeled it from its dusty lair, opened it and read out:

"_The world shall consume the day with its mortal tendencies, but ours is the night."_

"Sounds lovely ."

"We'll see."

And before Tabitha could reply, Miria had silently stalked off into the darkness. Tabitha stood for a second wondering if she had conquered up the result of Miria's sudden departure when from the door she heard:

"Found something you like yet Tabitha? It's nearly sunrise" was the loud retort.

"Don't shout in the library!" she bellowed and she jogged to the exit before sprinting back, grabbing a random book and pinching the candles and padded off into the fading darkness as the Sun rose into the Heavens.

000

TADA!there we go,I got the urge to write and started this story. These two deserve more attention.

R and R!


	2. Chapter 2

Don't own it!

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Chapter Two

The library incident had ushered in a calming atmosphere around the steadily forming routine that the two warriors were now beginning to set into. Every morning from that point on, both would rise, rather than Tabitha finding an empty bed beside her, and together they would slowly stroll down to the soulless library to lose themselves in the maze of Literature. Miria still had in her possession the maroon leather backed novel, and had been taken her time read through every single page which she slowly paced her eyes over, lost in a world of romance and mystery.

Tabitha envied Miria's ability to engross herself in the world of fiction. The book Tabitha had scrambled for on that morning was a sequel, meaning she was clues about the plot and she had spoiled herself for the first book. Her eyes cast a look over at Miria, snugly resting in a stained armchair across from her, eyes flitting through the poetic text. It was a good step, thought Tabitha, a good step away from seeing the painful image of her commander hunched over the war torn table, manically scribbling strategies and other notes that were impossible to make out.

They had departed from the library, as usual, to trail around the corridors of the Cathedral. It was a brighter day; the sun had slipped through the tangle of black clouds and smiled down, glimmering upon the stained windows at the two souls aimlessly wandering. Surprising, it was Miria's turn to break the silence, with a question, that seemed to have only just drifted into her mind.

"Do you think it was right?"

"Par- err what?"

"To let them go."

Oh no, was what Tabitha had screamed in her head. She looked over at the deep frown present on Miria's face, thick with worry lines in desperate concentration.

"Our sisters are strong, Miria, I do not worry for-"

"That's not what I meant". Tabitha recoiled at the uncharacteristic hiss from her friend.

Miria stopped and realised what she had done.

"Sorry Tabitha, I'm a little… stressed, I would never snap like that, on…purpose" came the timid reply.

"It's alright, Miria, I know it's natural for you to worry about them"

"Even if they are capable of defending themselves, I still can't sleep on it…knowing we are all separated". the confession with almost a wave of relief for freeing it into the hearing world .They had stopped beside a statue of what seemed to be a saint, who looked upon them with disapproval with faded eyes .Tabitha shuffled over to a more intimate distance between her and Miria, The sun was catching the Blonde and silver hairs that flowed to the sides of Miria's beautiful face. Tabitha closed her eyes and smiled:

"At least you still have me. "

Tabitha would never in all her days to expect former No 6 Miria, Phantom Miria to pull her into a tight embrace. She could feel her cheeks turning crimson as Mira had encircled her long white arms around her and rest her chin on Tabitha's lean shoulder. It felt sinfully that Tabitha's mind was on Miria's soft bosom pressing against her rather than considering the fact Miria had pulled down yet another wall in their friendship.

Her heart was ready to implode when Miria released her, one hand on her shoulder, drilling into her soul with the shimmering silver orbs with her posture straightened and a straight, confident expression upon her face.

"Mmm, at least" she softly mused.

"Buh ,yeah I mean...",was all that Tabitha could conquer up.

Miria gazed at her with a puzzled look. Tabitha's face was flushed and her breathe was quickened, but, given the heart pouring action she had just carried out, she let it drop, at least for now.

"Maybe we should find somewhere to sit..." and with a short walk they found a bench that faced a large window, which faced out into the green gardens of the Church.

They sat in comfortable silence, taking in the lavish grounds, which were blessed with apple trees that had started to blossom for spring, decorating the ground with light petals and enclosed hiding places among the flowering branches for plump bees' to circle and nuzzle into their sweet centres .

"This is much like a scene, from that book I'm reading" Twittered Miria and she gazed dreamily out into the lavish garden.

"How does it go?" Tabitha retorted, she too, immersed in the beauty of the garden and its other spectator. She gave a small yawn, and wriggled into a more cosier position .

"Well, the two lovers, stop on their journey, to look at a beautifully kept garden, just like this one, they become so lost in it's beauty they do not realise the sun beginning to set, and , then they uhh..."Miria sheepishly finished.

"They what , Miria?" Tabitha blinked and twisted her sleepy neck to face a small blush creeping onto Miria's face. She had a good feeling to what the two lovers were going to do in that lovely garden, but what must have caused the streak of blush upon Miria's face was the fact she had read the filthy three paragraphs detailing the scene.

Tabitha blurted out a loud laugh, leaving Miria mortified.

"Who knew _that_ kind of novel could be found on Holy Grounds!"

Miria stared and then, slowly and surely her mouth quivered, and a relaxed smile tugged on her once distraught face.

"I do hope you realise I'm not the one for reading such things, if Helen found out, I'd never hear the end of it". The silver maned women lazily yawned, allowing herself to slide back upon the bench so her chin was tucked into her neck and feet spaced out and extended to their full length. She looked like a careless teenager, rather than the emotionless, steel blooded, leader of the Northern Campaign.

"I doubt one sinful story can smear the reputation of Phantom Miria." Tabitha had somewhat mirrored Miria, only her legs were crossed and her head was turned in a manner which had only allowed Miria in her field of view, an image now becoming blurred…and dreamy.

A soft whisper of a laugh left Miria's lips, the days of the stoic half breed personality were so far away from her right now, In the years she had spent with the other survivors of The North, she had opened up, and Miria could roam, not number 6, and now with Tabitha…

She stopped and looked to Tabitha who had seemed to drift off into the land of nod. She was lazily slouched, much like Miria was now, and was leaning towards her companion with their shoulders millimetres apart. Tabitha's sleeping face was illuminated by the midday sun that poured through the towering window. She possessed a more earthy beauty than that of Miria's ethereal grace. Miria leaned closer to check if Tabitha had truly left the waking world. Upon hearing the gentle breathing in and out, Miria scooped up Tabitha's slender figure and carried her up to the dormitories in silence.

That's chapter two.

Hope you enjoyed this instalment of my story. Next few chapters may not be as dainty so be warned!

R & R!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"They're so doing it."

"Give it up, Helen"

The dynamic duo were making their way towards Helen's hometown, they had felt a disturbance in yoki and had taken a path that lead to the quiet town and the strange influx of energy. It was an undisturbed dirt trail, with the bows of trees swooning over and grazing the tops of their heads with full green leaves. Spring brought an unfamiliar sensation of warmth and freshness to both of them. It would take time to getting used to.

"I doubt Miria would partake in such activities, and Tabitha's crush is certainly not on the top of her list" came Deneve hushed reply. She had hoped that the comment would have silenced Helen as she concentrated on the release of yoki in the distance; it must be an awakened hunt…

"You see how frustrated those guys' are? They must be on the last of their wits." Helen shamelessly continued.

"Some people had more control of themselves than others." Deneve stated matter-of -factly. She was now growing a bit annoyed at Helen's constant interruptions.

Helen's response was a swift mumble before pausing and gazing around, before catching up again with her dear friend.

They continued with revered silence, a soft breeze was picking up the fattened branches of the canopy above them, she could hear the wildlife begin to blossom around-

"Is it me or do I sense, _two_ awakened beings?"

One final exasperated sigh and a quick turn of her lean neck

"There's probably a hunt for that one as well, we'll stick to the one that's closer to your town."

"Mmm,okay." With a wary mind, she softly pattered on to beside Deneve.

They had reached the gorge where the hunt was taking place .They had come in time to witness the start of the epic battle, the leader, was the current generation's no 8.

"How much you wanna bet pigtails' gets out alive?"

"A few minutes of you not talking about Miria and Tabitha "getting it on" would be a sufficient winning for me."

"Heh." was all the response Deneve received.

000

Sister Latea was, a kind but firm women. Her devotion to her chastity and her faith was of the up most importance .It was her dedication to the church that lead her in life, no longer her eyes, or her exceptional yoki. Everyday she would attend to the needs of the church. Preparing for mass, aiding pilgrims, helped with organizing the upcoming fair and of course now, the lofty yoma touched that now lurked around the holy grounds. The half breed child and her guardian, her patience could handle, but it was the two survivors of the bloodied north were she held her doubts.

Both had been torn from the wintry silence and now were thrown back into a new, unfamiliar world, despite her sightless eyes, she could almost see the anxiety that fumed deep within their broken hearts. Regret was one emotion that boiled inside of them, particularly in that of Miria. Her steel composer stubbed any erratic feelings in the bud, but of course, it takes more than eyes to see what a person truly feels underneath their skin.

She was cautiously ascending up the spiral staircase, with a tray of food in hand, guided by her senses and precise memory, to the Hallway that lead to the lair of her Silver eyed guests'. As she neared the dormitory, a strange, unfamiliar sound, bounded off the sullen walls.

_Clank._

It could not from the dormitory itself, and upon curling her longing finger around the door handle and entering the room, found no one.

_Clank._

Her sightless eyes peered up as if straining to see again. The roof .From the silence around her Galatea knew that most of the weary souls in the city were still asleep, except for the two souls now bounding overhead. She glided towards the balcony and strained her ear to listen to the struggle above.

000

They clashed again, the murderous shriek of metal calling out to the freezing night.

Miria was now nowhere in sight , and Tabitha stood in a slight crouch, in the middle of the roof, wild eyed and ready .Her ears picked up a single roof tile coming out of place behind her, the wind most likely.

Likely not .

With inhuman speed, she twisted and rammed her blade against her counterparts, the sound of metal grinding over itself moaned out again. They stood now, pushing against each other, not a blink of an eye, neither backing down Tabitha was using her height advantage to push Miria's blade back. It was working, before her commander vanished again and Tabitha was left to trip over at the loss of Mira below her. She was toying with her .It was driving her mad.

Miria had slipped out of her field of view again, Perched on a chimney a few meters behind Tabitha, her moonlight silhouette staring with concentration at the tensed warrior who had now turned to return the defiant glare. She was thankful that snow was not pelting their faces, or ice slipping them up below their feet, it made sparring more straightforward, and less tedious.

Her fellow warrior had sprung to the offense and clashed her sword with Miria's making her jump out of her trail of thought. They both skidded to either side of the roof, upturning a few more shingles in their wake.

Both had only started training again a short while lust for battle overcame the freighting normality around them .Their muscles needed to be stretched and pulled from from the deadly comfort,and the rush of getting caught only added to their secret was almost therapeutic , almost , for that effect was now starting to wear off for one of them.

Tabitha had a smooth sheet of sweat on her brow and arms, the muscles in her back and torso were starting to strain from twisting and contorting to block the savage attacks of Mira, so now she was on the attack, forcefully confronting Miria with unrivaled passion. She rarely trained with Miria when in their time in the North, partly because she was too shy to ask and also the fact that Cynthia didn't beat the shit out of her.

She made another lung towards Miria, how effectively ghosted out of existence to beside Tabitha with the tip of her blade on the small of her back.

"Stop holding back."

It was the first sentence both of them had uttered and it drove straight to the point. Tabitha's next merciless swipe was precise, and connected .She had momentarily winded Miria with the flat of the blade and now capitalized on her achievement by grappling Miria with her long arm to pin the shorter companion to the roof.

"Good, but let me see you do that again"

Miria once again phanthomed out of her plain of view and was already darting up a neighboring rooftop ,landing on the roofs edge.

"Try and do that from here" was her command.

Tabitha gulped at the distance Miria had covered, there was a street separating the two of them .This felt more on the likes of schooling than sparring, and she was the clueless pupil. This wasn't the Miria from the library. It was the hardened Miria of the north, who smothered the regretful soul underneath, a phantom, and Tabitha hated her. She squinted at Miria's emotionless face; a lone bead of salty liquid was scampering down her temple._Now._

With all the speed her spring like muscles could release, she rammed ahead, taking on the gap between her and Miria's was closing the distance, and Miria wasn't backing off, eye's narrowed, Tabitha was ready, sword raised, tensing to strike. It was at this moment that Tabitha released that she had gone to far.

Literally .

The last thing she remembered before crash was the stupefied look on Miria's gleaming face. It was an insignificant noise, even in falling they had grace, the only sound was the crusted plates upon the roof which were in Tabitha's path cracking as she landed in a rather flustered position on her back.

She raised her head to find Miria. Standing over her ,sword raised, ready to crash down on her.

The blade came down.

000

The eavesdropping nun sensed it before the emotion had even escaped from the depths of Miria's heart; it was loud, clear, and unwavering.

Doubt.

That one second, Miria had stopped her blade from crushing into the roof beside Tabitha; she took training so seriously, as realistic as possible.

And she held back, for that one, insignificant moment.

"Hpmh."

The sister withdrew from the balcony and found her way out of the room. She still sensed the movements above her , Miria holding out a callused hand and helping her comrade up, a soft pat on the pack and a few sheepish words. As she paced down the stairs, she turned and peered with uncertain scrutiny towards the ceiling.

_That doubt will be the death of her ._

000

This was meant to be up around tuesday,sorry guys ;-_- .

Ta for the fantastic reviews,will update soon!


	4. Chapter 4

I've been looking to finish this story for ages now. I'm alot older(and yes,wiser) from when I first started this fic and I feel like it deserves to be finished. I thought about rewriting it, I find some of the previous chapters really reflect my age at the time. I decided not to. This takes place around chapter 106.

For anybody who has been waiting this long for me to finish this, thank you; you're worth the stars to me.

Chapter 4.

000

"_Don't leave,Captain."_

Tabitha lay flat, the stone cobbles around her slippery with blood.

Miria's fading footsteps resounded in her throbbing temples.

"_Why Captain"._

The pale sun above was blocked by a figure.

Tabitha's vision was fading. The pounding in her fair head was becoming more intense.

"_Miria"._

The shadow loomed in and all went black.

000

Tabitha stared at the floor of the room, her eyes hot with tears. All this information from Galatea came down upon her like a guillotine. She wanted more than anything to be by Miria's side, and the captain herself had taken that away.

"You should understand why Miria made it so that you can't move until everything is over. Faith will occasionally hurt both and shred them to pieces."

Tabitha's grip on the bed sheet tightened.

"Don't cry, Tabitha".

It was too late. Tabitha's thin body had started to go in convulsions, each sob like a wave rolling over her.

Galatea sat passively and listened the timid stammering.

"I-I cared for her, I'm not n-not an emotionless rag doll that she can toss away".

"That's why she did it."

Tabitha raised her bloodshot gaze from the floor to the nun in front of her. A silence fell between them, only interrupted with Tabitha's teary hiccups.

"w-what?" came the sombre croak from the bed.

Another silence .

"Nobody wants to hurt the ones they love."

Without another word, Galatea raised herself from her seat and left Tabitha to herself.

The wounded warrior watched the door creak and shut. She was alone.

Tabitha turned and rubbed her eyes vigorously, then dragged her fingers along the tear trails on her cheeks. She looked around the room. She felt so small; all she wanted Miria to come back and tell her everything would be okay. She wanted to chase and shout at Helen for teasing her, to confide in Cynthia, to not be alone.

She peered back to the pillow on her bed and smothered her face in it, preventing her cries from ringing out through the stone walls.

000

The vacuum of the library was disturbed by almost silent footsteps. They take a familiar path around the shelves and stops. A slim hand reaches for a recently returned book, a maroon hardback free from dust.

The clank of a seat being pulled across the floor is heard. The reader takes their seat and opens the book .Their silver voice echoes through the hall.

"The world shall consume the day with its mortal tendencies, but ours is the night."

The End.


End file.
